Canadian Tourism Commission flags up agent opportunity

The Canadian Tourism Commission is offering agents visiting its stand (NA200) on Wednesday and Thursday the chance to win £50 worth of Amazon vouchers.

The competition, which is to mark the 50th anniversary next year of the creation of the Canadian flag, asks agents to "flag” up the reasons why they think people should visit Canada in 2015.

Agents will be able to submit their handwritten or drawn entries on especially created bunting. The ten agents that come up with the best flags or reasons, as judged by the CTC, will win one of ten £50 Amazon vouchers.

Agents visiting the stand will also hear about the appointment of the new CTC president and chief executive, David Goldstein.Previously the president and CEO of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC), which represents travel and tourism enterprises in Canada, Goldstein was also one of the key architects of the Federal Tourism Strategy with Industry Canada.

Goldstein will take over the role on December 1 ahead of a big year for the country as it gears up to host FIFA Women’s World Cup from June 6 - July 5, which will be attended by the England team who qualified earlier this year. The cities of Vancouver, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Montreal and Moncton will be hosting the tournament.

In the city of Toronto, the first-ever train line linking Toronto airport with downtown Toronto has opened. The journey takes 25 minutes and there are trains every 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, 2015 will see an increase in the number of seasonal flights to Canada from the UK. Canadian airline Westjet is launching a daily, non-stop service from Halifax to Glasgow on May 29 next year, operating on a Boeing 737-000 aircraft.

The seasonal service will run until October 23 and will offer connections on to Westjet’s other services from Halifax including flights to Toronto and Montreal. One-way fares start from $259.

Air Transat has unveiled plans to introduce a new service from Gatwick to St John’s in Newfoundland. The twice-weekly service, which will depart on Tuesdays and Thursdays, will operate from June 18 to September 2, 2015, carrying on to the Nova Scotian city of Halifax.

On the cruise front, Crystal Cruises is to become the first cruise line to sail through the Northwest Passage. Previously an area only frequented by explorers and Russian ice breaker convoys, the change in the world’s climate means that it is possible for commercial ships to sail through the Northwest Passage in the summer months, when previously the route would have been almost unpassable due to the number of icebergs.

Crystal Serenity will sail the 32-day exploration voyage, which departs on August 16 from Anchorage and sets sail for New York. The focus of the cruise will be on rare wildlife sightings and expedition days.

For more information visit stand NA200 or see en-corporate.canada.travel